Stay Together
by BlazeDelta
Summary: Matthew and Karis have been good friends, but when they argue over Amiti and Sveta and Matthew leaves, Karis has to take desperate measures to save their friendship. Dawnshipping conflicts with Stormshipping and Spiritshipping  in this one shot.


** Author's Note:**

** Hi to all, I'm BlazeDelta. I recently joined to write some fan fictions to pass time and to hone my writing skills. Besides, my exams are already over, so I have all the time in the world! **

** Anyway, this is a one-shot basically about the relationship of Matthew and Karis (Dawnshipping), which gets torn apart with the introduction of Sveta and Amiti (Spiritshipping and Stormshipping). And while I support Dawnshipping, I do not have any violent objections to the other shippings. I just firmly believe it's going to be an 'Isaac and Jenna' situation.**

** Without further ado, the story shall begin...**

**Part 1: Torn Apart and Forsaken**

"Karis, we need to talk," Matthew called out in a somewhat commanding tone.

"Erm, what's wrong?" the girl replied innocently. Karis instantly knew what was going on, and wanted to blurt out lots of her 'reasons', but she knew that her friend could read her like a book.

Matthew, on the other hand, was staring at her with his blue eyes, which looked even more eerie and mysterious in the light of the campfire. He stifled a cough and asked, "Tell me the truth, are you in love with Amiti?"

"What?" Karis cried out. "No! I don't at all! We're just... friends."

"And do you expect me to believe that?" Matthew answered. "Ever since you met him, you have been very soft with him."

Karis knew that he had a point. "Of course! He's a prince and he needs all the... respect he deserves!"

Matthew was getting angrier by the second. "So are you saying that the others don't?" He had trapped Karis in a corner. "And nearly half of our group are respectable, like Himi, Eoleo, Sveta..."

"It's not like that!" Karis snapped. "It's just..."

"That those guys are going to send their troops to get us if we don't like them? WHAT KIND OF RUBBISH ARE YOU SPOUTING?"

Now Karis was mad at Matthew as well. "So you are saying that if a guy checked Amiti out the way I did before he joined us then that person is gay? And besides, Matthew, weren't you and Sveta in a relationship?"

"It's different," Matthew replied, knowing where Karis was getting to. "She could have chosen anybody's spirit to join her to try and use the Apollo Lens. Even yours."

Karis relaxed a bit. She had a feeling that they should stop the argument.

"Matthew, sorry... can we please stop arguing?" Karis asked, now apologetic. Matthew did not respond, but instead, he was packing up his bag. He was leaving the group.

"Wait, Matthew! Please stay!" Karis pleaded. She was on the verge of tears. She was now willing to do anything to make her friend stay.

Matthew had already finished packing. He did not want to have anything to do with his friend anymore. Even so, Karis still had one last question to ask Matthew...

"So you would forsake our friendship?" she asked.

"Yes. Nobody shall ever be close to my heart ever again. I am leaving for good. I will forget that I have ever known you." Matthew replied. After wiping of the dirt off his pants, he stood up and walked off.

**Part 2: A Monument to All Your Sins**

Karis gazed at the starry night sky. It was the first time that she noticed that the world was beautiful.

Except that now she had a hole in her heart that would never be filled, until she found Matthew again.

Just my luck, she thought. I should have let him win. Nothing here is easy. I want to end everything.

Karis turned around to find a sword at her side. It was a gift from Matthew. But now she was going to use it as a tool to end her life.

She grabbed the hilt of the sword and admired the sword a final time. It was beautifully designed, with a shiny golden blade and a nice leather grip. She smiled at the thought of ending her life with a beautiful sword. She closed her eyes and held it above her chest.

Coincidentally, Amiti, Sveta and Tyrell had just woken up and were planning to look for breakfast for the camp when they happened to walk past Karis.

"What the! Somebody disarm her, quick!" Tyrell cried out, pointing at the suicidal person.

Sveta quickly dashed towards Karis and managed to pull the blade out of Karis's hand, except that she nearly twisted her arm.

"Oh my! Sorry!" Sveta said upon realising her mistake. She quickly casted a healing spell and Karis's arm healed.

"What happened?" the trio asked Karis. They all knew her to be a mature and resilient person, and were obviously shocked to see her attempt to commit suicide.

As if on cue, Karis burst into tears. "Matthew...he left me...he left everybody..." she stammered.

Amiti and Sveta exchanged an odd look. Both of them knew what had transpired, and they were the cause of it.

"I'm... going to look for him... he should still be nearby... he just left this morning..." Karis continued, trying to stand up. She tripped over a pebble and stumbled, and she burst into tears again.

"Help her back into the camp," Amiti told Sveta and Tyrell. "We shall discuss this...issue after breakfast."

Tyrell and Sveta looked at Amiti, who for once had a pained look on his face, but he quickly ordered them to hurry up, so they dismissed it as their imagination and carried Karis back to camp while Amiti went to wake the rest up.

**Part 3: Looking For Your Destiny... Takes Time, Patience and a Sword of Guilt**

"Come on guys get up, it's time for breakfast," Amiti shook the others, trying to wake them up.

"Aww man," Eoleo groaned. "Five more minutes..."

"WE HAVE AN IMPORTANT ISSUE TO DISCUSS SO WAKE UP!"

Eoleo, Himi and Rief quickly got up. After a bit of stretching, they went to join the rest for breakfast.

After eating, Tyrell cleared his throat, "Well, guys and gals, we have one heck of a problem to talk about: Matthew is officially gone." And there goes our hunting trip together, he thought.

The others who had just woken up were given a shock of their lives. "Great. There goes our leader. What happened?" Eoleo grumbled. Everyone looked at Amiti, then Sveta and then Karis.

Amiti spoke up. "Well, there was a dispute between Matthew and Karis and yup, Matthew left."

"Must be about love, isn't it?" Himi asked curiously. All of them, even Karis, looked at Himi. They were all surprised at how she figured out the problem so quickly.

Sveta shifted uncomfortably and continued, "Well, yes, and..."

"Karis was accused of liking Amiti and Matthew was accused of liking Sveta and vice versa," Himi concluded.

"Yup," Tyrell said, still surprised. "So our new objective is to..."

"Find Matthew."

"Check." Tyrell answered.

"Get him and Karis to solve their dispute."

"Yup."

Eoleo cracked his knuckles. "That's going to be easy," he grumbled. "He could be anywhere. How much better can it get?"

Rief ignored his sarcasm and suggested, "Well, considering his walking and running speed..."

"He's at Sky Plateau." Karis said. All of them looked at her as if she had gone crazy. "That's where we used to go when we were kids."

Amiti gave an annoyed stare at her. "And where is this place you speak of?"

Karis gave a half-grin and replied, "It's a secret place. It's just near Goma Plateau and a few miles away."

After a while of using a map, Rief concluded, "From where we are, it will take an unfortunate 3 hour fast march to Sky Plateau and we should arrive at around 12 00 hours, Weyard time obviously." He stopped to see if everyone understood.

"That's one heck of a march," Tyrell mumbled.

"Then we better get marching," Karis said.

**Part 4: 3 Hours to Your Fate**

Matthew had already arrived at Sky Plateau and set his bag down on the ground. He could see Mount Aleph, more mountains and even his cabin from where he was, which was very high.

"Never felt this free in a long time," Matthew told himself. It seemed odd to him as well , for it was his first time being there by himself and he had always went there with Karis.

The thought of Karis hit him hard. He thought of Karis struggling to find him, and he felt as if a hot blade poked his heart, but he quickly threw that feeling aside. He had already given up on her.

After I admire the scenery, Matthew thought. After this, I will go to where mom stays. I'll get my own money, maybe go monster hunting, and get a new girlfriend and...

His train of thoughts suddenly vanished. He thought of what his mother would say upon hearing his situation. She would be happy to see him, but she would probably tell him to go back to Karis and get her to apologize, or maybe worse, get HIM to apologize.

Meanwhile, Karis and the rest were around halfway to "Sky Plateau" (Amiti had suggested calling it Hatred Point, but Karis was obviously upset, so it was unanimously thrown aside). After a short break, Rief concluded that due to possible delays at the climb as landslides were common, it would take another 2 hours to reach Matthew.

Well, that's good, Karis thought. I could think of a way to get Matthew to marry me. Provided he still cares and would even bother getting me a ring. Damn.

Later on, during the hike up to Sky Plateau, Amiti wanted to have a conversation with Karis.

"Um, Karis?"

"Yes?"

Amiti gave a long, deliberate sigh and continued, "I have to tell you something important."

Karis looked at Amiti and thought; don't tell me that you love me. I'm only concerned about Matthew. But she still asked, "What is it?"

Amiti closed his eyes for a moment and muttered a prayer before continuing, "Karis, I cannot and will not love you."

What he said was like giving a slap to Karis. "What do you mean?" she asked, obviously shocked.

"It's not right," Amiti answered. "For me and you to be together. I mean, I was just a newcomer. On the other hand, you and Matthew have been close friends and I think, you two deserve each other."

"Oh, right, thanks a lot."

"No, don't get the wrong idea. Everybody must right their wrongs. I'm only doing what I firmly believe is just." Amiti heaved another sigh and continued, "You know, Matthew is a good person. He may be a bit rash at times, but I know he places everybody before himself. That's why he helped Sveta. He knew that Weyard would be destroyed if he did not help. He's not the type that would let anybody's efforts become a lost cause."

Karis felt better upon hearing that. Maybe he's right, she thought. Matthew is a good person. I'm not going to bear a grudge against Sveta anymore as well. I know what happened at Apollo Sanctum now.

During a break, Sveta also had a talk with Karis.

"Karis, there is something you need to know,"

Karis did not reply, but looked at Sveta as if she wanted her to go on.

"Do you want to know why I asked Matthew to help me at Apollo Sanctum when he was dying? When we all first met at the ruins, when I read his mind, I found something out that I had never seen before. Matthew's reason for helping everyone he had met in his life was because he wanted to make the world a better place for everyone."

Karis pondered on her words for a while. She's right. Karis thought. Matthew was quite a helpful guy in the situations we've been through.

After hours of countless marching, Tyrell, who was in front, leading the group, called out to the rest, "Looks like we're here."

Everyone quickly went to where Tyrell was. They were really at Sky Plateau. It was a beautiful place, with a picturesque view of the world below.

And standing at one edge of the summit was the hero of Weyard. He had his arms crossed and was watching them, as if daring them to approach him. His scarf flew in the direction of the wind.

"Hey Karis," Amiti said. "It's show time."

**Part 5: Honour, Courage and Unyielding Spirit: Judgement Time and Reconciliation of The Two**

The whole group approached Matthew. He had not moved an inch and was waiting for one of them to speak up first. And obviously, the whole group was waiting for Karis to make her move.

After taking a deep breath, Karis said, "I'm sorry Matthew."

No response from Matthew yet. The group was shifting uneasily. This is going to be harder than I expected, Karis thought. But there was no turning back.

"I didn't know what was going through your mind," she continued. "I didn't know that you were sensitive about our friendship... up until earlier. I also learnt some things from Sveta and...Amiti. I realised that you were actually a nice person and all..."

Just then, Karis burst into tears and started apologising. "I'm so sorry Matthew! I didn't know how you felt! I am really, really sorry!"

Matthew seemed to relax a bit, or so it seemed. He was about to say something when Karis slipped and fell off the cliff. Thankfully, she managed to grab an edge of the cliff, but she was still going to fall.

Seeing this, the group looked at Matthew. As if on cue, he dived to where Karis was hanging and made a grab for her hand. "I'm not letting you die!" he cried. But holding on to Karis was not getting any easier. It seemed that her hands were slipping out of his, and before he could react, Karis's hand slipped out of his and fell again.

This time, Matthew made another grab for her hand. He was not letting anybody lose their life. Not at this time, he thought. Never in my face. But it seemed that he was getting dragged down as well. Well, he thought. At least we die together. We could kiss on the way down, too.

Just then, an idea formed in his mind. He casted Growth, which sent vines growing and this time, he made them grab his legs. Now that he could never be dragged, he pulled Karis up, who was traumatised by the whole incident.

Before he could even try comforting Karis, she threw her arms around him and held him in an embrace. "Matthew... I'm..." she stammered.

"Relax, I'm still here." He said in a soft tone. Just then, he realised that his lips were close to hers, and before he knew it, she kissed him on the mouth, causing him to blush.

He could have stayed that way forever, until he overheard Amiti saying that he was going to start drawing a picture of them there and then. Matthew pulled away from Karis and helped her up.

"So," Amiti asked. "Problem solved?"

Matthew gave a grin like his usual self and replied, "Yup, it's all okay."

And he and Karis had another kiss again.

**Part 6: Unbreakable Bond and More for the Two**

It was a long way down from Sky Plateau. After all, it was a long and draining journey up there in the first place.

Nevertheless, the group was still filled with much energy. They were making Matthew and Karis hold hands the whole way down. To top that, they were actually having dinner at Isaac's place, and Ivan was going to be there. (This was what Karis had not expected.)

During the meal, which was prepared by Matthew's mother, Jenna, everybody was telling the adults all that had transpired, much to Matthew and Karis's embarrassment.

"Well," Isaac said. "I was expecting it to be the same thing like with me and Jenna."

"Don't try to brag about it to the kids, honey!" Jenna called out from the kitchen, causing them to all laugh.

After dinner, Matthew sat outside the cabin, watching stars and the constellations. His favourite was Corvus. He had heard from his father that this constellation was actually a celestial guardian in another world along with the other constellations like Aquila and such. Corvus was bent on eliminating the mortals, but a mortal managed to defeat him and taught him that the mortals were still a good race of creatures. And all that, as he heard from his father as well, only happened a few years ago. The mortal, who was originally a celestial guardian as well, did not turn into a constellation like his comrades did. And the most amazing thing was that the mortal was about Matthew's age. Matthew hoped to meet that person someday.

Just then, Karis had also went outside and sat beside Matthew. "The stars are beautiful, aren't they?" she asked.

"Yeah. I like their origins as well. I aspire to be recognized like those constellations in the sky." Matthew said. He then turned to look at Karis and asked, "Have you ever wondered what's out there? Like, maybe someone out there was wondering how it's like here."

"I guess." She answered. "Do you think we'll meet them?"

"I hope so. Don't you?"

Karis brushed the dirt off her dress and answered, "Yeah, but for now, let's solve our problems in our own world. We shall admire the skies when we are done, and our question will be answered." Her fingers laced through Matthew's, and for once, Matthew wondered on life. But that would have to wait. There were more things to find out about the world, too. Perhaps Karis was right on life far away from them. But for now, he had to settle for what he got.

And what he got was a peaceful night, and also a friend who would stick with him through thick and thin. He was going to make his wish to be recognized become fulfilled, but he was not going to do it alone.

_~END~_

**Author****'****s****second****note:****Well,****I****hope****you****enjoyed****this****one-shot.****It****'****s****my****first****fan****fiction,****and****I****hope****that****I****brought****up****a****point****or****two****on****Matthew****and****Karis****'****s****relationship,****and****also****on****the****issue****of****friendship.****Thanks****for****reading****and****I****appreciate****your****honest****review****and****feedback.**

** Remember, there is always somebody out there, but for now, we have to solve our own problems first.**

** Peace Out,**

** _BlazeDelta_**


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